The Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology (KNTU; ) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is named after medieval Persian scholar Khajeh Nasir Toosi. The university is considered one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in Iran. Acceptance to the university is highly competitive, entrance to undergraduate and graduate programs typically requires scoring among the top 1% of students in the Iranian University Entrance Exam.
History
The university was founded in 1928, during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, in Tehran and was named the "Institute of Communications" (). It is therefore considered to be the oldest surviving academic institution across the country. (Iran had universities 800 to 2000 years ago from which only the name, ruins and scientific history have survived.)
This institute was later expanded with an Electronic and Electrical Power Engineering department. The 50th anniversary of the establishment of this academic institute was celebrated in 1978, and a commemorative stamp was published by the Post of Iran, before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (see photo).
The department of Civil Engineering was founded in 1955 as an Institute of Surveying. This institute was later joined by the Institutes of Hydraulic Engineering and Structural Engineering. The department of Mechanical Engineering was founded in 1973. These institutes of higher education were formally integrated in 1980 and named "Technical and Engineering University Complex". As a general practice of paying tribute to the scientific and scholastic figures of the nation, the university was renamed in 1984 "Khajeh Nassir-Al-Deen Toosi (K. N. Toosi) University of Technology". It is affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran.
As of 2012, the university is planning high-tech projects, including the production of a new satellite called 'Saar' (Starling) as well as radar-evading coatings for aircraft. The university's scientific board are also involved in many industrial projects, including the building of satellite carriers and an indigenous eight-seat helicopter. Attack on the university On November 29, 1401, as a part of the suppression 2022 Iranian Uprising, agents of the special unit along with a large number of forces attacked this university and arrested many people. According to Amir Kabir newspaper, after the announcement of a protest rally by the students of Khwaja Nasir on Sunday, December 1st, since this morning, plainclothes forces, who were brought from outside the university in coordination with the Basij of Khwaja Nasir University, occupied the college campus. They tried to prevent students from holding a protest rally by installing Hezbollah flags in the college. They also tried to provoke the feelings of the protesting students by using obscenities towards Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
Also, from the beginning of the day, university security prevented students from other faculties from entering the Faculty of Civil Engineering to participate in the rally. When the number of students behind the doors of the college reached more than 500 people, the special forces and law enforcement arrived at the place and dispersed the students from the front of the college. Then the forces of the special unit and the anti-riot guard took control of the entrance and prevented the students from entering the university. The students of other faculties, who faced the obstruction of the police force and the special unit, went to the Faculty of Mechanics of this university and held their gathering in that faculty. Singing slogans, the students demanded the release of Ali Parvez and Sohail Mohammadi and condemned the repressive policies of the coup government in the university.
On the other hand, the students of the Faculty of Civil Engineering started their rally despite the pressures of the university mobilization and uniform forces. At this time, uniformed forces and Basij members attacked the students and prevented them from continuing their gathering by fighting with the students.
According to the students, one of the members of the Basij of the 86th Entrance University named "Akhwan", who is known as the person in charge of the analysis and tactics of the student mobilization, was in charge of directing the repressive forces and threatened the protesting students with extensive arrests and suppression of the university atmosphere.
Ali Parvez, the detained student of this university, has contacted his family only once so far and there is no information about the status of his case and there are serious concerns about his health. According to the report of Amir Kabir newsletter, a bail of 150 million tomans has been set for Sohail Mohammadi, another detained student, who has faced his objection to the bail amount.
The president of Khaje nassir toosi University of Technology said regarding the creation of a space for protest and discussion for students in the university environment: this university is one of the universities that has provided the most space for students to protest. Our document is also the day when Mr. Ali Bahadri Jahormi, the government spokesman, was invited to our university. We chose the best amphitheater of the university for this meeting and tried to show our goodwill. We also announced to all the students, including those aligned and not aligned with the recent events, to attend the meeting.
The president of Khaje nassir toosi University of Technology stressed that arresting students is not within the authority of the university and said: None of the arrested students have been arrested in the internal environment of the university and we are still working for the release of the detained students, whose number is also very small. Emphasizing that none of the cases of arresting students have taken place in the university, he added: So far, none of the security forces have entered the university in any way, and students have not been arrested even within the university. Arresting students is not at all within the scope of the duties of university presidents and within the framework of the university, and these cases are not coordinated with the university presidents in advance. Since these are security incidents, the necessary follow-ups are also carried out within the scope of security devices.
The president of Khaje nassir toosi University of Technology stated: In these cases, the security agencies take action because of their intelligence aristocracy, which is definitely much, much stronger than the university, and the university is not involved in arresting students at all.
Notable alumni Hamidreza Zareipour professor at University of Calgary Moaven Razavi Scientist and Member of Faculty, Brandeis University, MA, USA Hadi Meidani assistant professor at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Hessam Mirgolbabaei assistant professor at University of Minnesota Ashkan Ashrafi professor at university at San Diego State University. Danial Faghihi assistant professor at University at Buffalo. Sadegh Azizi lecturer at University of Leeds. Hossein Sayadi assistant professor at California State University, Long Beach. Ramtin Hadidi assistant professor at Clemson University. Amir AghaKouchak professor at University of California, Irvine. Farshid Vahedifard CEE Advisory Board Endowed Professor at Mississippi State University. Ehsan Ghazanfari associate professor at University of Vermont. Mohammad Amin Hariri-Ardebili Research associate at University of Colorado Boulder. Mahmood Yahyai adjunct professor at Morgan State University. Mohammad Moghimi assistant professor at Northern Illinois University. Farhad Jazaei assistant professor at University of Memphis. Omeed Momeni associate professor at University of California, Davis. Majid Beidaghi assistant professor at Auburn University. Mehdi Mortazavi assistant professor at Western New England University. Mohammad Aliabadi former vice president and Head of Physical Education Organization of Iran, was also President of the National Olympic Committee of Islamic Republic of Iran from 2008 to 2014 Mohammad Ardakani was the minister of cooperatives and governor of Qom province Ali Motahari Representative of Shabestar in the 8th elections of Islamic Consultative Assembly Ali-Akbar Mousavi Khoeini was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 6th Parliament of Iran Farzad Hassani actor Aidin Bozorgi mountain climber, disappeared in Broad Peak Mahmoud Ghandi politician
Rankings In the university rankings announced by the Times Higher Education Supplement in September 2016, K. N. Toosi University of Technology was ranked among the top 5 universities in Iran and in the range of 601 to 800 top universities in the world.
Also ranked 501-575th in QS World University Rankings in 2025 in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering field.
In 2020 Round University Ranking-Clarivate announced that it had achieved 470th place in the world overall ranking.
Faculties
The faculties of this university were founded as follows :
Faculty of Electrical Engineering (1928) Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1973) Faculty of Civil Engineering (1955) Faculty of Industrial Engineering (1998) Faculty of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering (1955) Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (2004) Faculty of Computer Engineering Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering Faculty of Chemistry Faculty of Physics Faculty of Mathematics The E-Learning Center (2004)
Due to the varied origins of K. N. Toosi University of Technology, the faculties are not concentrated in one campus. As a result, the university has five campuses and a central building. However, the plan for centralizing the university is underway.
Each faculty has its own computer center, library and education services office. All libraries are attached to the Simorgh library network. Housing facilities are available for men, women and couples. There are sports facilities on all campuses. The university is programming the development of a branch in Venezuela and research centers in Tehran.
The Central Building on Mirdamad Ave., Tehran, is the managing body of the university and the presidency, all vice presidencies, the central academic services and registrar's office are in this building. Management of education services happens through the Golestan education management system, while research is managed via the Sepid research management system.
Programs
The university offers Bachelor's (B.S.) degrees in more than 20 and Master's (M.S.) degrees in 50 academic fields. It also has 28 PhD programs. It hosts more than five joint educational programs at B.S. and M.S. levels. The courses have industrial orientation on a broad base. The university has 250 full-time faculty members. The total number of students is about 7,000.
Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering was founded in 1928. It is the main and the oldest faculty of K. N. Toosi University of Technology.
It is also the first electrical engineering school in Iran. The faculty has more than 70 full-time faculty members. It is among the best electrical engineering schools in Iran, especially in graduate studies in the field of Communications, Controls, and Biomedical Engineering. The Faculty of Computer Engineering was founded in 2014 after separating from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
It offers the following programs: